Les Miserables Vogue

And here we are, another year of American Vogue covers, and none of them featured Victoria Beckham. Anne Hathaway is December, understandably. She is Wintour-approved, and Valentino-approved, and she is the star of one of the most highly anticipated movies of the season, my favourite movie of the year, Les Miserables, which just happens to open at Christmas.

It’s not just Anne who’s profiled either. The December issue will also include photos of the rest of the cast. I’ve included links to more images and the full article below.

Anne Hathaway is 30 today. She just hosted Saturday Night Live this weekend. She is considered a strong frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress. Hugh Jackman actually predicts in the Vogue piece that she will win. And I know, I know that there are those of you don’t see it. You can’t deal. With Anne’s Try. With whatever it is that she has in common - a little, right? - with Taylor Swift. And I get that, I do. Especially when she jumps up on stage at the Critics’ Choice Awards and refers to it as “fitting” that she and Meryl Streep are nominated together. As IF. Especially when says things like this:

“I went scarlet from the tips of my toes to the tops of my ears.”

It’s cloying, totally. Annie is a people pleaser. And we can never be pleased. We hate on those who don’t seem to care enough, and we hate on those who seem to care too much. Annie cares a LOT. She probably cares too much too often. But is it possible to have a conversation about Anne Hathaway that’s independent of her personality and focused solely on her talent?

She can SING.

She sang on SNL and her voice was clear and strong and legitimate. This is no Gwyneth Paltrow. Anne Hathaway PROJECTS. Annie hits her notes. And she’s a great physical performer. She did a great Claire Danes. Even in that terrible sketch about American Gothic, did you see her commit to those expressions? Her eyes? She’s a skilled actor who can be wonderful in the right role.

No, Anne Hathaway is not my favourite. But that doesn’t mean she can’t be Fantine. An excellent Fantine. The goal right now is Fantine. Can she meet the Fantine expectations? Apparently her audition was... untouchable. Tom Hooper tells Vogue it lasted three hours and that when it was over, there was no other choice. Here’s how Anne described the process:

“I knew that someone was going to have to go in there and do something pretty special to unseat me. Sometimes you leave a room and you feel like maybe you’ve left the door open a crack. This time, I knew that I had slammed it shut behind me.”

Is this conceit? Or is it confidence? How do you read it? Is it possible to be unapologetic about a performance, about doing a really great job without sounding like you’re sh-tting on someone else?

PS. Please let’s have a moment for Jessica Biel who sent in a tape for this role. But that is funny, isn’t it?

Click here to read the full Hathaway Vogue article and click here to see pictures of the other cast members.